ROOSEVELT ELK ALONG THE PRAIRIE CREEK DRAINAGE - AN EVALUATION OF ESTIMATING ABUNDANCE AND HERD COMPOSITION

Roosevelt elk, Cervus elephus roosevelti, abundance north of Orick, Hu mboldt County, California, was estimated using a mark-resight method f or individuals that possessed unique scars, pelage, and antler configu rations, Estimated population size was 115 (95% CI = 105-134), Calf:co w, yearling bull:cow, and bull:cow ratios were 0.45:1, 0.21:1, and 0.3 8:1, Monte Carlo simulations using the joint hypergeometric distributi on suggest that improvements in the reliability of estimates can be ob tained by increasing the number of resight episodes and observing a la rge proportion of the population, Estimating size of this unhunted pop ulation using the mark-resight approach appears to be reliable and cos t-effective.